So the words ‘KL Rahul’, ‘strike rate’ and ‘intent’ will be discussed across sporting circles once again. But can’t take anything away from the way SRH obliterated this chase. We doubt many could achieve the strike rates that Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head are recording even while playing book cricket or hand cricket. Never before have so many runs ever been scored in the first 10 overs of an IPL game. Never before has anyone at Cricbuzz been able to switch off their laptops before 11pm during an IPL game. Grateful for that early finish, this is Saurabh Shankar signing off on behalf of Pradeep, Kumar, Akshay and Siva.

Travis Head | Player of the Match: Lot of fun today. Nice to get this done in 10 overs. Abhi and I have had a few partnerships like this. Just concentrate on getting in good positions, watch the ball hard and try to maximise the powerplay. (On his spin hitting) It is something I have been working on, it will be a big part in the Caribbean as well. It is important to go 360 in the modern game. (On fearless cricket) The last 12 months, that's how they wanted me to play in the Aussie team, and that's what I've been told to do here as well. Nothing much that I have to change. (On Abhishek Sharma) I know how hard he works and how deep he thinks, his spin play is second to none. We compliment each other very well. Nice to see him back amongst the runs after missing out the last couple of game. (On NRR) We didn't think about it till the Timeout, but after that the boys came out and told us to score quickly. The crowd was exceptional tonight, that's what we needed after losing the last two. I haven't got many things over him, so that's good to know that I have more runs than David Warner did in his first SRH season. We start again whenever we come out here for the next game.

Pat Cummins: (On did he change the pitch) Maybe Travis and Abhishek did. We just let them go, they are two guys who are very positive and I'm a bowler, it is tough for me to give them any inputs. (On Travis Head) He's been like this for 2 years, he hits the tough areas, hits the middle a lot, might not be super conventional. (On Abhishek Sharma) Just an incredible player of spin and pace. With just 2 fielders out, it is really difficult for the bowlers against them. (On where the game is headed) I think the scores have gone up, and when the wickets are good, it is tough to come up with answers against batters when they get going. The boys have had a fantastic season, but to win this with less than 10 overs played is unreal.

Stats by Deepu Narayanan

Most 50+ scores inside Powerplay in IPL:
6 David Warner
4 Travis Head - all in IPL 2024
3 Sunil Narine
3 Chris Gayle

Fewest balls to 100-run partnership (IPL):
30 T Head - Abhishek Sharma vs DC Delhi 2024
34 T Head - Abhishek Sharma vs LSG Hyderabad 2024 *
36 Harbhajan - J Suchith vs PK Wankhede 2015
36 C Lynn - S Narine vs RCB Bengaluru 2017

Most sub-20 ball 50s in IPL:
3 Jake Fraser-McGurk
3 Travis Head *
2 S Narine
2 K Pollard
2 Ishan Kishan
2 KL Rahul
2 Pooran
2 Jaiswal

Highest total after first 10 overs in IPL:
167/0 (9.4) SRH vs LSG Hyderabad 2024 *
158/4 SRH vs DC Delhi 2024
148/2 SRH vs MI Hyderabad 2024
141/2 MI vs SRH Hyderabad 2024

Winning with most balls to spare in IPL (100+ targets):
62 SRH vs LSG Hyderabad 2024 (Target: 166) *
57 DC vs PK Brabourne 2022 (Target: 116)
48 Deccan vs MI Navi Mumbai 2008 (Target: 155)

So this result means that Mumbai Indians have been eliminated from the playoffs race. This is also the first win for SRH over Lucknow.

Abhishek Sharma: I would never think of coming to such a tournament and playing at such a strike rate, but thanks to the team management. The message was clear from them and I backed myself. All the credit goes to him (Head). The way he starts against all bowlers.. he goes after them from the start and takes the pressure off. The bowlers told us (during the innings break) that it was getting better, but myself and Travis thought it was not doing much. I think the hard work I put in before the tournament is showing now, thanks to Yuvi Paaji, Brian (Lara) as well and my father, who is my first coach.

KL Rahul: Am lost for words. We have watched that kind of batting on tv. But this is unreal batting. Everything seemed to find the middle of the bat. Kudos to their skills. They have worked hard on their six hitting skills. They didn't give us a chance to know what the pitch played in the second innings. Was hard to stop them as they teed off from ball one. Once you are on the losing side, there are questions marks on the decisions taken. We were 40-50 runs short. When we lost wickets in the powerplay, we couldn't get any momentum. Ayush and Nicky batted well to get us to 166. But even if we would have got 240, they could have chased it as well.

22:16 Local Time, 16:46 GMT, 22:16 IST: Between both innings today, it feels like we got a classic microcosm of how the T20 game has evolved in the last few years. Gone are the days when you can play out powerplay with conservative strike rates, with the hopes of maximizing output in the death overs. The modern T20 cricketer believes in carnage, believes in clearing that front leg and whacking it to all parts of the ground. It is no longer about winning games, it is about obliterating oppositions with net run rates facing fatal consequences. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma made batting look easier than EA Cricket on amateur mode, as they devoured into the LSG bowlers, inflicting a brutal loss to the visitors. The first over went for just 8 runs, and that was the only joy LSG got the whole innings. Abhishek Sharma dispatched Thakur for four consecutive boundaries, and then Travis Head latched onto Gowtham, plundering 22 runs off it. The Aussie batter scored a 16-ball fifty, as SRH finished the powerplay with 107 runs.

Sagar Chhabria: The only competition in this game seemed to be between Head & Sharma

Yash Thakur to Abhishek Sharma, SIX, all over!! A back of length delivery angling outside off. Abhishek Sharma waits for it and slaps it over wide extra cover for a maximum. This game has finished before the second time-out. What a thumping performance from SRH.